Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley has pushed back against claims that Ethereum and Solana are unsuitable for real-world asset tokenization, arguing that the economic models of both blockchains remain fundamentally sound for institutional use cases. His comments come amid a wave of tokenization activity that has focused attention on which blockchain networks are best suited for bringing traditional assets on-chain.
The debate was sparked by critics who argue that transaction fees, network congestion, and scalability limitations make Ethereum and Solana impractical for large-scale tokenization of real-world assets such as stocks, bonds, and real estate. They contend that the costs associated with settling high-value institutional transactions on public blockchains remain prohibitive compared to private, permissioned networks.
Horsley countered that these criticisms overlook the rapid improvements in layer-2 scaling technology, fee reduction mechanisms, and the security advantages that public blockchains offer over private alternatives. He noted that the tokenization market is still in its early stages and that the current focus on infrastructure development will eventually make public blockchain-based tokenization economically viable for even the largest institutional participants.
The real-world asset tokenization market has grown significantly over the past year, with major financial institutions including BlackRock, JPMorgan, and the DTCC conducting live trials. The market for tokenized securities, money market funds, and other assets has surpassed $2 billion in total value, though this remains a small fraction of the trillions of dollars in traditional assets that could theoretically be brought on-chain.
Horsley’s defense of Ethereum and Solana reflects the broader industry consensus that while challenges remain, public blockchains will ultimately serve as the settlement layer for a significant portion of the tokenized asset market.
This article was adapted from U.Today. Read the original here.
